Student Association for Graduates in English – Concordia University
The election results are in! Your new SAGE Council members are:
Academic Rep: Jennifer Breaux
Creative Rep: Melanie Power
VP Administration: Miles Forrester
Thank you to everyone who voted and everyone who ran in the election. We look forward to working together to bring you exciting SAGE events this year!
Nominations for SAGE elections are in. Read up on our candidates below and make sure to vote this Friday, September 29.
When I was an undergraduate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, I was a part of the undergraduate honors association for English majors titled “Sigma Tau Delta.” Part of my responsibilities was to attend departmental meetings that concerned undergraduates, and as a result, I was able to familiarize myself with the instructors within my department. Also, under Sigma Tau Delta, I shadowed the EGSA (English Graduate Student Association) specifically concerning their organizing the Global South Conference, a local academic conference held in Louisiana. I was then able to see the process of approving papers for presentation at the conference as well as the organization of panels up close. Lastly, I was also a member of the sorority Gamma Rho Lambda, and once a month I attended a meeting with the Student Government Association, an undergraduate organization that involves all student-led organizations to vote on various issues such as funding attendance to conferences for undergraduates, amendments to the students’ bill of rights, and approval for organizations to program campus events. I enjoyed this work as an undergraduate, and I’m excited at the prospect of being an academic representative for SAGE. I believe I will be equipped to handle the responsibilities as a representative from what I’ve done as an undergraduate.
I believe I’d be a good candidate because I am very interested in connecting more with the English Department. I want my time at Concordia to be more than just attending class. I’ve been in Creative Writing for a while; I am familiar with the faculty and students, and consider myself friendly and well spoken! I know this position is fairly introductory, still I would want to put my best foot forward and step up to the role.
“I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass,” Walt Whitman writes in his poem “Song of Myself,” detailing a languid practice of lazy leaning and loafing. I have all the work-ethic that Whitman lacks in this poem. My passions include: trying to make the world more beautiful and dismantling the patriarchy, both mostly with poetry. I am also reliable, responsible and can write sonnets.
I have experience working with similar committees in undergrad (I was an executive member of the Visual Arts Student Association at York University) and after graduation (I was an executive member of The White House Studio Project (artist run centre in Toronto’s Kensington Market)).
Welcome and welcome back to grad school! Those of us at the Student Association for Graduates in English are looking forward to working with and for you in the coming year. To kick off the semester, here’s what we have lined up:
Join us on Friday, September 29 at Reggies bar, located on the second floor of the Hall Building (1455 De Maisonneuve Boulevard W.) for a welcome back dance party, DJ-ed by our very own Robin. Doors open at 8:00 PM. Feel free to bring your partners and besties.
Before getting ready to party, stop by the General Assembly on September 29 @ 3:00 PM in LB 646. We’ll be providing an overview of what SAGE has planned for the year and how our finances will be distributed. This is also the time for bylaws to be proposed and adopted/rejected by vote, so do make sure you’re here to have your voice heard.
SAGE is holding elections for the following positions on Council:
Involvement with Council offers students a direct say in their academic experience at Concordia, as well as the opportunity to engage in dialogue with faculty and administration. The dates of the election process are as follows:
For more information about the positions and current members, please check out the team or send us an e-mail at sage@concordia.ca. On September 29 when you join us for the General Assembly and our Welcome Back Party, make sure you take a moment to exercise your democratic right and vote!
The 16th annual English Graduate Colloquium at Condordia is presently seeking team members to vet and edit papers and to help manage the event space during our conference on March 23 and 24, this year titled Animal Print. The full details of the call can be found here.
If interested in the position, please submit a brief paragraph of intent stating why you would be a good fit for the team and detailing which tasks interest you to concordiacolloquium@gmail.com by Sunday, October 1, 2017 at 11:59 pm.
Headlight Anthology is a student-run literary journal that publishes poetry, prose, and visual art annually in print. We’re currently hiring a managing editor and treasurer. Interested students can send their resume and cover letter to headlightanthology@gmail.com by September 22.
The Committee for Equity and Visibility in the Academy aims to maintain an open dialogue between students, faculty, and administration on issues of representation and visibility. If this initiative is something you wish to get involved with, you can contact the organizers at ceva.concordia@gmail.com.
The nominations are in and your candidates for President, VP Internal, VP Social, and Treasurer are listed below!
The election will be held on Wednesday, October 5. Although some of these positions only have one candidate, you still need to vote. All SAGE Council members must be voted in through election, or they will not be eligible to perform their duties.
Voting will be open in person from 10 AM to 5 PM on October 5 in the Graduate Lounge (locker room, LB-660), or via email at sage.elections@outlook.com any time between 12 AM and 5 PM on October 5. If voting via email, please write the name of your preferred candidate beside positions with multiple candidates, or write “Yes” or “No” beside uncontested positions. A ballot template has been provided!
Please include your student ID when voting so we can ensure no one votes twice and that all votes come from SAGE members.
Our CRO for the election will be Sandy Martin, and SAGE members who are not running for Council will be manning the physical polling station.
Once elected, the new Council members will begin their term on October 5, 2016.
Academic Representative #1: Jen TracyMy name is Jen and I am a first year MA student in the academic stream. A fierce lover of democracy, for this blurb I have decided to let the people speak for themselves:
“What, you want me to just describe you? Okay, um, Jen is a funny, kind person who I’ve known for 11 years and… is good at snowboarding…? I don’t know Jen, this is weird.” -my friend Lauren.
“She can be a little too, well, she needs to remember, there are certain dates and things she needs to remember to acknowledge in other people’s lives, like her mother’s and her sister’s birthdays.” -my mum, Harriet.
Recently, I asked for some feedback on the TA conference I lead. A number of students described the conference as “good” and “relaxed.” Other students had “nothing much to say.” One glowing review said that “Conference seems great. I haven’t had a lot of experience with which to compare it.” -anonymous
“Jean makes mean chai from scratch!” -my roommate, Laura.
Hopefully these testimonials convince you why I would be an outstanding choice for academic representative on the SAGE council. This I do promise, that I will not forget to go to faculty meetings like I have consistently forgotten my sister’s birthday. Thank you very much.
Academic Representative #2: Carmelo MarsalaI am a hard worker, with an eye for perspective. I do not take the thoughts, interests, or ideals of my peers, superiors or colleagues for granted, and have the greatest respect for others. I enjoy the prospect of thinking with others, and all but embrace the notion of being allowed to grow as a community in an environment of courtesy and equality. My interests lie squarely on prospects of thought, truth, and language, and the interrelation between meaning and sound. As such, I cannot help but appreciate the value of clear and concise communication, and admire the variance and quality of opinion. I believe that bias, however insurmountable, is an obstacle which is, although unconquerable, always meant to be opposed.
Creative Representative: Emily Jane Crompton
I am a student in the creative stream. While my personal focus is poetry, I will indiscriminately represent fiction and non-fiction writers, and any incoming to outgoing student who is interested in making new and lovely things to read. My past experiences include helping at weekly writing workshops, acting as an editor-in-chief for 7 Mondays, and sitting on the selection committee for the Graham Atlantic Creative Writing Prize in 2016. I’m looking forward to drawing on the skills I’ve developed during my undergraduate and am looking forward to participating in a larger departmental community as the creative rep.
Hello email list of the chosen,
I’m Kaitlynn McCuaig, I come from the Toronto area, and I have spent the last 20 years or so trying to decide on an artistic form (or at least narrow it down to a manageable handful). Prose writer, amateur photographer, visual artist, television and film enthusiast, social performer, musician that’s forgotten how to play, and general art- and school-lover, I’m in the English creative stream and am actively trying to make the most of an experience my solitary, ground-squirrel nature would otherwise have me retreat from.
I’m fascinated with art as a cultural influence that brings like minds together, invested in issues of advocacy and representation in the Canadian and North American context, and as I’m interested in training myself to be a more social creature, the position of VP Admin (as it has been described to me) sounds like an excellent exercise in social yoga (that may also benefit the program or something like that).
I also promise double recesses if moved from a nominated party to an elected one, and a more-or-less constant presence on the internet for contact, social media and blog-related purposes. Thank you for your consideration!
These are your candidates, SAGE. The choice is yours. On October 5, help us help you by choosing the first four members of next year’s Council.
Yours,
SAGE Council
The nominations are in and your candidates for President, VP Internal, VP Social, and Treasurer are listed below!
The election will be held on Friday, April 22. Although some of these positions only have one candidate, you still need to vote. All SAGE Council members must be voted in through election, or they will not be eligible to perform their duties.
Voting will be open in person from 10 AM to 5 PM on April 22 in the Graduate Lounge (locker room), or via email at sage.elections@outlook.com any time between 12 AM and 5 PM on April 22. If voting via email, please write the name of your preferred candidate beside positions with multiple candidates, or write “Yes” or “No” beside uncontested positions. A ballot template has been provided!
Please include your student ID when voting so we can ensure no one votes twice and that all votes come from SAGE members.
Our CRO for the election will be Mona’a Malik, and SAGE members who are not running for Council will be manning the physical polling station.
Once elected, the new Council members will begin their term on June 1, 2016.
PRESIDENT — ARIANE LEGAULT
List of reasons why you should vote for me:
Most importantly, I am deeply invested. I care a great deal about this department – both in its current form and future manifestation. Over the years, I have worked in affiliation with social organizations such as QPIRG and Divest Concordia for the betterment of a campus that emphasizes the respect of diversity and the importance of social responsibility. As president of this upcoming year, I promise to maintain an unwavering commitment to equity; I am acutely aware that academic and creative growth is contingent on having a safe environment within which it can be nurtured. Tolerance, respect, and active listening are values that I will uphold and personally ensure that the department does so too.
As for my organisational skills, I am annoyingly meticulous about getting things done in a timely fashion. While this has its downfalls – most notably, on my stress level – it allows those whom I work with to maintain a clear and constant notion of what is happening and what remains to be done. I will inevitably carry this trait to my presidency as it is an integral part of my personality which I can’t get rid of – trust me, I’ve tried.
It all comes down to this: As president, I am mouthpiece working for you guys. I will ensure that your concerns are being heard and treated in a concrete and respectful manner.
VP INTERNAL — TORIN McLACHLAN
I would love to continue my involvement with SAGE Council by serving as VP Internal during the second year of my MA. Serving as the SAGE Academic Rep for the past year has given me a good working knowledge of faculty/staff/cohort relations, and I feel confident that I can put that knowledge to use in representing and mobilising the concerns and aspirations of SAGE members from both streams. Having sat on a few organising/sub-committees this year and co-developed a successful grant proposal to fund various initiatives within the department, I also feel well-situated to leverage my experience to support next year’s event organisers, schemers, and/or dreamers. I continue to marvel at the industry and imagination of the people in this program, and hope to work alongside them in developing important creative and critical contributions to the Concordia community and wider world.
VP SOCIAL — LIAM LACHANCE
I’m interested in helping out as the VP Social because an advantage of our program seems to be all the reading/writing events and the literary community here at Concordia and in Montreal. Some examples of events that stay with me include Jess Bebenek’s group poetry readings at the Centre for Expanded Poetics, Tess’ Writers Read, Monstrous Impositions and the truly amazing Off The Page festival, as well as the lovely Caterina Incisa’s Lit Pop series. I also had the pleasure of being with a gorgeous team of prom organizers who conspired to pull off quite a ‘unique’ prom, and I’d be interested in helping repeat a mild to significant variation of next year. I’ve also had the chance to host a series of creative writing events with Concordia Write Nights in a variety of random spaces such as the Biodome, and I’ll be hosting a similar series next year so that academic and creative stream students have a chance to write together.
As the VP Social I would also aim to welcome our arriving students with some key events, something along the lines of the ultra creative and very cool Tiny Room Series that’s been hosted by the always wonderful Karissa ‘LA-rock’ LaRoque. I would also like to make better use of the Richler Room. We hosted a successful event there this past winter due to the work of Chalsley Taylor, Kate Sterns, and Jason Camlot, so I’m optimistic that going forward we can continue to integrate the room into the program. Also, if we haven’t had the chance to meet, I’m very open to collaborating with others, and I’m invested in ensuring and learning about accessibility and diversity in the program. As VP Social I’d aim to bring forward these values of collaboration and creativity – feel free to contact me at word@wordandcolour.com if you have any event suggestions in mind!
TREASURER — BRIEANNA LEBEL
I think supporting SAGE as treasurer would be great way to contribute to the English program. I even have a bit of experience dealing with budgets/payouts as I was the financial manager for my partner’s band when they a received a US grant to tour in the UK for a month in 2012. Embarrassing fact: I actually think that spreadsheets and all that jazz are a pretty good time!
TREASURER — JESSICA CADIEUX
I am interested in getting more involved in Concordia’s student life and becoming SAGE’s treasurer gives me a great opportunity to do so. I see becoming treasurer as an opportunity to represent Concordia’s English grad department and as a chance to work with great people in the program. I’m organized and I work well under pressure so I don’t think this responsibility would interfere with my school work and I’m confident that I would be able to be a good treasurer.
These are your candidates, SAGE. The choice is yours. On April 22, help us help you by choosing the first four members of next year’s Council.
Yours,
SAGE Council
On February 12 at 1:30 PM, all SAGE members (any MA or PhD student in Concordia’s English program) are invited to come for a Special General Assembly discussing the matters of representation of POC in the department, reducing bias in marking, and kitchen access for grad students. This SGA has been called following concerns raised by SAGE members on all of these counts.
The agenda is as follows:
1. Chair’s Remarks
2. Representation of POC in the department
3. Marking bias
4. Kitchen access
5. Adjournment
The agenda cannot be amended.
Supplementary materials will be posted here. SAGE’s introductory background material on the genesis of this SGA will be posted here shortly, and circulated to the cohort via email. SAGE members are encouraged to comment on this event with further reading that they believe is pertinent to these matters.
If you cannot attend, but would like to make your thoughts on these issues heard, you are free to express them here, or to send written comments to sage@concordia.ca to be read aloud at the SGA.
RSVP on Facebook.
Join SAGE at McKibbin’s on Bishop at 7 PM on October 19 as we watch the results of the 2015 federal election come in!
Though we are unable to put forth any partisan messages, we can say with some certainty that on October 19, 2015, something or another will happen to our country, that may or may not be positive, and some students may be happy about that thing that happens, while other students may not.
Come commiserate and drink with us as we try not to mortally offend anyone with our politics! Don’t forget to use the buddy system to ensure no SAGE member gets into a bar fight. The pen is mightier than your pint glass.
Due to concerns raised by members of the cohort, the Student Association for Graduates in English will hold an Emergency General Assembly on the issue of Bill C-51, how it affects the literary and academic communities in particular, and what courses of action the cohort would like to take to express our feelings on this controversial legislation.
The EGA will take place on Thursday, October 22 at 11 AM in LB-660. The EGA will be open to all SAGE members (all current graduate students in Concordia’s English Department). The agenda will be circulated via email as well as posted at the bottom of this post and on the Facebook event page.
If you feel strongly about Bill C-51, it is crucial that you attend. Votes on any courses of action will affect the cohort as a whole, whether they are present to vote or not. If you cannot be present for the EGA but would like your thoughts on Bill C-51 aired at the EGA, you can leave them in the comments on the Facebook event, or email them to sage@concordia.ca.
Quorum for the GA is 10 people.
Voting will be by secret ballot.
Please share this information with your friends in the department.
Hello, English grads!
In a shocking turn of events, every candidate won by a landslide, defeating their opponents without breaking a sweat! Eileen Holowka decimated the competition for VP Administration; Torin McLachlan took no prisoners in the brutal battle for Academic Rep; Liam Lachance left no one standing in the fight for Creative Rep.
Your full SAGE Council for 2015-2016 is as follows:
President: Colin Young
VP Internal: Caitlyn Spencer
VP Social: Sara Press
Treasurer: Rachel Burlock
VP Administration: Eileen Holowka
Academic Rep: Torin McLachlan
Creative Rep: Liam Lachance
We are eager to get to work at making this year the best it can be for SAGE members! Expect news soon regarding the upcoming federal election, as well as Halloween festivities, and don’t forget to keep an eye on our ongoing initiatives such as Wednesday Night Yoga and Concordia Write Nights, and to check out the SAGE Calendar for other events happening on campus and around Montreal.
Have suggestions for initiatives, events, or other points of interest? Write us at sage@concordia.ca, or track any one of us down!
Thank you for voting, SAGE. We look forward to serving you.
Yours,
SAGE Council
SAGE